Committee for elephant protection formed in Korean EPZ

A specialist committee has been established to ensure the protection of elephants in the Korean EPZ area of Chattogram.

This initiative was led by Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, following a meeting held on Monday in the ministry at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

The committee has been tasked with submitting a report to the ministry within the next three weeks. This report should include specific recommendations for ensuring a safe working environment for EPZ workers and addressing human-elephant conflicts.

Attendees at the meeting included the president and managing director of the Korean EPZ, the chief conservator of Forests, and various ministry officials.

The committee will be headed by the Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram, with other members including Prof Monirul H Khan from Jahangirnagar University, Prof Anwarul Islam from Dhaka University, a representative from IUCN, two representatives from the Korean EPZ, Rubaiya Ahmed from Obhoyaronno (Bangladesh Animal Welfare Foundation), and the Divisional Forest Officer of the Chattogram South Forest Division.

The Divisional Forest Officer from the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division in Chattogram will serve as the member secretary of the committee.